A website leak has exposed the participant list for the secretive Dialog retreats founded by billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, revealing a who's who of American politicians from both parties, foreign officials, tech titans, and media figures. The list, embedded in the Dialog website's source code and archived by the Internet Archive on June 15, was first noted by a hacktivist on BlueSky and independently verified by the Guardian.
Dialog, an invitation-only conference series launched in 2006, has drawn comparisons to elite gatherings like the Bilderberg Group and Bohemian Grove. The leaked directory includes serving Trump administration officials such as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, White House staff secretary Will Scharf, and Jim O'Neill, former deputy secretary of health and human services. Also named are two sitting US senators—Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey)—and two Democratic governors: Wes Moore of Maryland and Jared Polis of Colorado.
Political Figures Distance Themselves
Several Democrats on the list quickly distanced themselves from the organization. Jared Polis's spokesperson Eric Maruyama stated: "No, Governor Polis is not a member of this organization, whatever it is. He does not know why his name is associated with the organization in any way or appeared on their website." Cory Booker's spokesperson David Bergstein wrote on X: "Cory is not involved with this group. Back when he was a mayor he regularly attended conferences and speaking engagements, and this might have been among them." Wes Moore posted on X: "13 years ago I was invited to speak... about my book 'The Other Wes Moore'. That was my first and last appearance at Dialog. Never met Peter Thiel. Don't plan to in the future!"
Retired General Stanley McChrystal confirmed attending two Dialog events about a decade ago, calling them "a gathering of thoughtful people across the political spectrum." He added: "I can see a temptation to view these kinds of events as something they're not, in my experience we need more venues where people feel free to talk openly." However, George Mason University professor Janine Wedel, co-director of the Corruption, Networks, and Transnational Crime Research Center, warned: "It is in these sorts of gatherings – where you have financial, tech and political power coming together – that we're increasingly seeing agendas being set and opinions being shaped."
Tech and Business Elite
The list is heavy with business figures close to the Trump administration, including Elon Musk, Jared Kushner, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and investor Chamath Palihapitiya. Also named are OpenAI president Greg Brockman, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan, and TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett. Media figures include New York Times columnists Ezra Klein and Bret Stephens, podcaster Sam Harris, and actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who confirmed attending two Dialog events.
Foreign officials on the list include European Commission Vice-President Kaja Kallas, Japan's Digital Minister Tarō Kōno, former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal, current Saudi Ambassador to the US Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, Kuwait Petroleum CEO Sheikh Nawaf Saud Nasir Al-Sabah, and former Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. UK figures include former Keir Starmer adviser Matt Clifford and Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat. Clifford stated: "I'm very surprised this is interesting to anyone! ... The list being circulated is an invite list rather than an attendee list."
Epstein Connection and Secrecy Concerns
The leak also revealed that Dialog co-founder Auren Hoffman invited deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to the 2014 conference, though it is unknown if Epstein attended. Wedel commented: "The participants are secret, the agendas and the conversations are secret – and people can get away with shaping opinion that is in their interest but may be absolutely contrary to the interests of you and me."
Dialog maintains a paid, tiered membership with a nominations pipeline and is building a permanent campus in the Washington suburbs. This year's retreat is reportedly set for August 12-16 at a hotel outside Dublin, with topics including nuclear power, world war 3, sex, and cults, according to Wired magazine.
